Written Answers Monday 27 September 2010

Scottish Executive

2010 Commonwealth Games

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost is of the visit to the 2010 Commonwealth Games by the First Minister, the Minister for Public Health and Sport and government officials.

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what engagements are planned for the ministerial visit to the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what other government business the First Minister will undertake on his visit to the 2010 Commonwealth Games

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the dates are of the ministerial visit to the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Shona Robison: The First Minister and the Sports Minister will each attend part of the 2010 Commonwealth Games as representatives of a competing nation and to support our athletes, explore economic opportunities in India and to prepare Scotland for the world stage in the lead up to Glasgow 2014. As the next host nation of the Commonwealth Games, Scotland has a close interest in the Delhi Games, not least in the Closing Ceremony where we will celebrate the formal handover from Delhi to Glasgow.

  Ministers are attending the event as guests of the Commonwealth Games Federation and the organisers of the Delhi Games. The details of the programme and Ministerial support are still being finalised but we are working to ensure the best value for money. Numbers will be less than the delegation which attended the 2006 Melbourne Games.

Access for People with Disabilities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what changes are being proposed for the Blue Badge scheme.

Stewart Stevenson: The Blue Badge scheme has been running since 1971, originally known as   the Orange Badge scheme. The Scottish Government is currently undertaking a wide ranging consultation on the scheme to ensure that it remains fit for purpose in the 21st   Century. No decisions on any possible alterations to the scheme will be considered until the consultation period has ended on 8 October 2010 and the responses analysed.

Access for People with Disabilities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to change the rules which currently enable Blue Badge holders to park on double and single yellow lines for an unrestricted length of time.

Stewart Stevenson: Whether a time limit should be placed on parking on double and single yellow lines is one of the areas under consideration as part of the current Blue Badge reform consultation. The Scottish Government’s decision on this will fully take into consideration the responses that are received to the consultation and the important road safety purpose which these road markings serve.

Access for People with Disabilities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation it will undertake with Blue Badge holders on any proposed changes to the scheme.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government’s consultation on Blue Badge reform has been running since 12 July 2010 and will close on 8 October 2010. The consultation was issued to over 300 stakeholders and organisations and is available on the Scottish Government’s website. We have had a good number of responses so far, the majority of which have been from Blue Badge holders.

Asthma

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with asthma have a self-management plan, broken down by NHS board, and what information it has on how this compares with other parts of the United Kingdom.

Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally.

  The revised clinical guideline (Guideline 101) on the management of asthma, published on 30 June 2009 by the British Thoracic Society in conjunction with the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), recommends that people with asthma should be offered self-management education that focuses on individual needs, and that this should be reinforced by a written personalised action plan.

  We expect clinicians in NHS Scotland to take account of the recommendations in SIGN Guidelines.

Asthma

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the hospital (a) admission and (b) readmission rates are for people with asthma, broken down by NHS board.

Shona Robison: The following table shows the number of hospital stays where asthma is recorded as the main diagnosis at the beginning of the hospital stay and the number of emergency readmissions for asthma within 28 days of a previous hospital stay for asthma for year ending 31 March 2010. The table also shows the admission and readmission rates per 100,000 population.

  Number of Hospital Stays where Asthma is Recorded as the Main Diagnosis at the Beginning of the Hospital Stay and Number of Emergency Readmissions for Asthma within 28 days of a Previous Hospital Stay for Asthma, Year Ending 31 March 2010P

  

NHS Board of Residence
Number of Asthma Hospital Stays
Rate per 100,000 Population
Number of Asthma Emergency Readmissions within 28 days
Rate per 100,000 Population


NHS Ayrshire and Arran
520
141.6
46
12.5


NHS Borders
118
104.7
5
4.4


NHS Dumfries and Galloway
158
106.4
11
7.4


NHS Fife
417
114.8
38
10.5


NHS Forth Valley 
311
106.7
33
11.3


NHS Grampian
555
101.8
44
8.1


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
1,644
137.1
97
8.1


NHS Highland
403
129.8
40
12.9


NHS Lanarkshire
739
131.4
39
6.9


NHS Lothian
903
109.3
47
5.7


NHS Orkney Islands
14
70.1
-
-


NHS Shetland Islands
12
54.0
-
-


NHS Tayside
436
109.1
47
11.8


NHS Western Isles
42
160.4
6
22.9


Scotland
6,272
120.8
453
8.7



  PProvisional.

  Source: ISD Scotland.

  Notes:

  The basic unit of analysis for these figures is a continuous stay in hospital. Probability matching methods have been used to link together individual SMR01 (Scottish Morbidity Record 01) hospital episodes for each patient, thereby creating "linked" patient histories. Within these patient histories, SMR01 episodes are grouped according to whether they form part of a continuous spell of treatment (whether or not this involves transfer between hospitals or even NHS boards).

  All discharges (hospital stays) with an initial main diagnosis of asthma are included in the analysis. Each discharge is then compared with the next admission to hospital for asthma for the same patient. If this subsequent admission occurs within 28 days of the date of discharge for the previous hospital stay and is coded as an emergency admission, it is selected as a relevant readmission.

  The information presented relates to the conventional approach that relies on the statistical circumstance that the distribution of the interval to emergency readmissions forms a distinct peak in the days following discharge. Readmissions fall away thereafter to approach background level of admission. This suggests that there is a strong probability that readmissions in the period following discharge are in fact related to that discharge. The period of 28 days is to some extent arbitrary, but has been widely adopted as maximising the trade off between including as many related readmissions as possible and excluding as many unrelated readmissions as possible. The figures include readmissions within 28 days whether or not the readmission was related to the previous hospital stay.

Asthma

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether (a) admission and (b) readmission rates for asthma have improved over the last 20 years and, if so, to what extent and whether the impact on these rates of quality improvement measures such as the Quality and Outcomes Framework can be measured.

Shona Robison: The following table shows the number of hospital stays where asthma is recorded as the main diagnosis at the beginning of the hospital stay and the number of emergency readmissions for asthma within 28 days of a previous hospital stay for asthma for the last 20 years. It also shows the admission and readmission rates per 100,000 population.

  Number of Hospital Stays where Asthma is Recorded as the Main Diagnosis at the Beginning of the Hospital Stay and Number of Emergency Readmissions for Asthma within 28 Days of a Previous Hospital Stay for Asthma, By Financial Year of Discharge

  

Year of discharge
Number of Asthma Hospital Stays
Rate per 100,000 Population
Number of Asthma Emergency Readmissions within 28 days
Rate per 100,000 Population


1990-91
9,203
181.1
751
14.8


1991-92
9,721
191.2
769
15.1


1992-93
9,173
180.4
747
14.7


1993-94
9,954
195.5
682
13.4


1994-95
8,668
169.9
694
13.6


1995-96
9,148
179.2
658
12.9


1996-97
7,839
153.9
619
12.2


1997-98
7,619
149.9
564
11.1


1998-99
7,165
141.1
504
9.9


1999-2000
7,061
139.2
417
8.2


2000-01
6,175
122.0
420
8.3


2001-02
6,135
121.1
356
7.0


2002-03
6,102
120.7
379
7.5


2003-04
6,131
121.2
389
7.7


2004-05
6,833
134.6
490
9.6


2005-06
6,219
122.1
465
9.1


2006-07
7,260
141.9
577
11.3


2007-08
6,402
124.5
481
9.4


2008-09
7,134
138.0
506
9.8


2009-10P
6,272
120.8
453
8.7



  PProvisional.

  Source: ISD Scotland.

  Notes:

  The basic unit of analysis for these figures is a continuous stay in hospital. Probability matching methods have been used to link together individual SMR01 (Scottish Morbidity Record 01) hospital episodes for each patient, thereby creating "linked" patient histories. Within these patient histories, SMR01 episodes are grouped according to whether they form part of a continuous spell of treatment (whether or not this involves transfer between hospitals or even NHS boards).

  All discharges (hospital stays) with an initial main diagnosis of asthma are included in the analysis. Each discharge is then compared with the next admission to hospital for asthma for the same patient. If this subsequent admission occurs within 28 days of the date of discharge for the previous hospital stay and is coded as an emergency admission, it is selected as a relevant readmission.

  The information presented relates to the conventional approach that relies on the statistical circumstance that the distribution of the interval to emergency readmissions forms a distinct peak in the days following discharge. Readmissions fall away thereafter to approach background level of admission. This suggests that there is a strong probability that readmissions in the period following discharge are in fact related to that discharge. The period of 28 days is to some extent arbitrary, but has been widely adopted as maximising the trade off between including as many related readmissions as possible and excluding as many unrelated readmissions as possible. The figures include readmissions within 28 days whether or not the readmission was related to the previous hospital stay.

  The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) of the new GMS contract incentivises GPs to record the number of patients diagnosed with asthma and to put in place a system for their ongoing review. The Scottish Government is not aware of any studies examining the impact of quality improvement measures such as the QOF on admission or readmission rates for asthma in Scotland.

  In addition, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) published clinical standards for asthma services for children and young people in March 2007, which provide clear advice and guidance on effective clinical practice. NHS boards’ progress towards implementing the standards was reviewed in November 2008 and the recommendations contained within the NHS QIS national overview report are being taken forward by the respiratory managed clinical networks (MCNs) which have been developed in all NHS Boards with pump priming funding from the Scottish Government. The MCNs act as the vehicles for local implementation of relevant standards and guidelines. This helps ensure consistency of care, as well as the delivery of HEAT target T6, which includes reducing hospital admissions for those with a primary diagnosis of asthma.

Benefits

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place between it and COSLA regarding the UK Government’s proposed changes to Housing Benefit.

Alex Neil: We have real concerns about the impact these proposals might have and are taking steps to ensure that the views of the people of Scotland are heard in London. It is essential that any changes do not affect the most vulnerable households, who simply cannot afford a reduction in housing benefit. Officials have been in contact with a broad range of key Scottish stakeholders, including COSLA, to discuss the implications of the UK Government’s proposals and to ensure that their views and concerns are reflected in our discussions with Whitehall.

Care of Elderly People

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued to NHS boards regarding waiting times for treating older patients with a hip fracture.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has set a waiting time standard that 98% of patients admitted to a specialist unit for hip surgery following a fracture should undergo surgery within 24 hours, subject to the patient’s medical fitness and during safe operating hours. This standard has been in place since 31 December 2007.

Care of Elderly People

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of older patients with a hip fracture received surgery within 48 hours of hospital admission in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: The specific information requested is not available centrally.

  The current waiting time standard is for 98% compliance with the national maximum wait of 24 hours from admission to a specialist unit for hip surgery following fracture, subject to medical fitness and during safe operating hours. The standard came into effect from 31 December 2007.

  Performance on delivery of the 24 hour standard was compiled from the Scottish Hip Fracture Audit at NHS hospital level. The table below provides performance against the standard by NHS board for the period 2006-07, 2007-08 and 1 April to November 2008 and for the last reported month of 31 December 2008.

  NHS Scotland delivered the hip fracture target in December 2007 and maintained it throughout 2008. Due to this excellent performance by NHS Scotland it was decided to stop the Scottish Hip Fracture Audit and re-invest the funding into a service where there was a need for significant improvement in access to treatment.

  From 2009, NHS boards should be monitoring performance against the waiting time standard locally to ensure continuing delivery.

  

NHS Hospital
2006-07
2007-08*
1 April to 30 November 2008
December 2008


 
% Meeting Standard
% Meeting Standard
% MeetingStandard
% Meeting Standard


Ayrshire and Arran
 
 
 
 


Crosshouse
92.3
94.6
99.3
90.0


Ayr
100
98.8
99.0
100


Borders
 
 
 
 


Borders General
98.2
93.3
92.8
93.3


Dumfries and Galloway
 
 
 
 


Dumfries and Galloway Royal
98.4
95.4
100
100


Fife
 
 
 
 


Queen Margaret’s
96.8
97.1
98.5
97.0


Forth Valley
 
 
 
 


Stirling Royal
92.1
95.7
98.4
93.3


Grampian
 
 
 
 


Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
96.1
97.3
97.7
97.6


Dr Gray’s
96.7
96.8
100
100


Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 
 
 
 


Glasgow Royal Infirmary
100
95.4
98.3
97.0


Western Infirmary Glasgow
86.4
96.5
98.9
100


Victoria Infirmary
100
99.0
100
100


Southern General 
100
93.4
100
100


Royal Alexandria
90.6
97.1
97.2
100


Inverclyde
98.9
98.4
100
100


Highland
 
 
 
 


Raigmore
95.3
96.3
94.2
100


Lanarkshire
 
 
 
 


Hairmyres
94.2
90.7
97.2
100


Wishaw
86.7
94.5
98.4
100


Monklands District General
92.9
96.7
93.9
100


Lothian
 
 
 
 


Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
65.9
91.4
99.4
98.8


Tayside
 
 
 
 


Ninewells
95.8
97.5
99.3
97.7


Perth Royal Infirmary
97.5
99.4
100
94.4


NHSScotland
89.0
95.7
98.4
98.1



  Note: *The 24 hours standard delivery date was 31 December 2007 – this is a whole year performance for 2006-07. The monthly data published in February 2008 showed that NHS Scotland delivered 98% compliance - delivering the standard.

Care of Elderly People

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many older patients required treatment for a hip fracture in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board, and how many were treated within 48 hours of admission to hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: The number of hospital admissions with hip fractures in patients aged 50 or more in Scotland between 2005 and 2009 by NHS board is provided in the following table.

  In relation to how many patients were treated within 48 hours of admission to hospital, I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-36048 on 27 September 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx

  NHS Scotland: Number of Hospital Admissions with Hip Fracture* in Patients Aged 50 or Over for the Years 2005 To 2009

  

NHS Board
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009


Ayrshire and Arran
524
497
512
541
563


Borders
162
143
169
161
161


Dumfries and Galloway
263
225
199
234
250


Fife
425
397
403
394
394


Forth Valley
372
336
345
382
367


Grampian
716
692
690
698
747


Greater Glasgow and Clyde
1,859
1,835
1,934
1,828
1,776


Highland
378
338
382
367
399


Lanarkshire
715
704
737
748
756


Lothian
1,031
1,030
983
1,030
1,050


Orkney 
30
29
22
27
26


Shetland
19
22
22
27
28


Tayside
668
670
685
731
688


Western Isles
23
10
28
21
34


Scotland
7,185
6,928
7,111
7,189
7,239



  Source:ISD Scotland SMR01

  Note: *Hip fracture identified using ICD -10 codes S72.0, S72.1 and S72.2. this may include consecutive fractures to the same hip, but patients were not included more than once per continuous inpatient stay.

Care of Elderly People

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it issues to care homes to help prevent older residents fracturing hips.

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what importance it places on exercise and nutrition in assisting older people from fracturing hips.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government recognises that falls are a major problem for frail older adults living within care homes and that exercise and nutrition is important in fracture prevention. An AHP Consultant has, therefore, been appointed within the Care Commission to work with the national falls lead to address the issue of falls prevention strategies across Scotland. One of the key strands of this work is the development of an electronic falls and fracture prevention self-assessment resource pack to support staff in care homes, which will enable the implementation of a systematic, person centred approach to falls prevention and management, based on best practice and the current evidence base. It is anticipated that the resource pack will be made available to the early implementation sites by January 2011.

Climate Change

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has sought, or intends to seek, with the Committee on Climate Change regarding the national planning framework, and whether it will publish this advice.

Stewart Stevenson: As consultations on the second National Planning Framework preceded the formal establishment of the Committee on Climate Change, the opportunity to seek advice from the committee on the framework’s content was not available. The Scottish Government’s climate change targets will be an important consideration in revising the National Planning Framework and we will consult widely when the time comes to review it. Advice received from the Committee on Climate Change by the Scottish Government on any subject would be published.

Dentistry

Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS dentists there were in each NHS board in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2009-10.

Shona Robison: Data showing the number of NHS general, community and hospital dentists by NHS board at 30 September is available at: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=Dentists%202009a.xls&pContentDispositionType=attachment .

  Data showing the number of NHS general dentists by NHS board at 31 March is available at: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=GDS_Dentists_Only_Mar2010.xls&pContentDispositionType=attachment.

Energy

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has sought, or intends to seek, with the Committee on Climate Change regarding the proposals for a new coal-fired power station at Hunterston, and whether it will publish this advice.

Stewart Stevenson: Given the role of Scottish ministers in determining this application it would be inappropriate to comment on its specifics at this stage. A decision will be made on this application in due course.

  Advice received from the Committee on Climate Change by the Scottish Government on any subject would be published.

Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to involve patients and carers in the procurement process for the purchasing of clotting factor products.

Nicola Sturgeon: The current round of procurement was carried out on a UK basis and included patient involvement.

  We recognise the part that patient and carer involvement can play in these areas. For example, in the 2009-10 procurement round for blood clotting factors in Scotland, patients were consulted on their views on the home delivery service and packaging and labelling of products for home use.

Health

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what role self-management will play in the NHS Quality Strategy and whether condition-specific self-management plans will be promoted.

Shona Robison: Self-management has a central role in NHS Scotland’s Healthcare Quality Strategy which includes three key quality ambitions: that services should be person-centred, safe and effective.

  The person-centred quality ambition promotes mutually beneficial partnerships between patients, their families and those delivering healthcare services which respect individual needs and values and which demonstrate compassion, continuity, clear communication and shared decision-making. This means staff should work with people to set personalised goals and signpost them to the type of support and information they need to help them live well. This includes information on self-management.

  This ambition closely mirrors the principles of self management that are central to the Gaun Yersel’ self-management strategy for Scotland, developed by the Long Term Conditions Alliance Scotland. Implementation of the self-management strategy is being delivered as part of our long-term conditions action plan and is a key improvement intervention within the quality strategy.

  Supporting people to understand their symptoms and to have more confidence and control in managing their conditions improves their health and wellbeing, enables earlier and more effective intervention by the right team at the right time and so supports our "effective" quality ambition.

  Self-management also has a key role in improving safety in NHSScotland. People who have the right information and advice about their condition are far more likely to have a full understanding of treatments and interventions, to manage their medication safely, recognise flare-ups at an early stage and avoid harmful triggers and situations.

  Condition specific self-management plans are already in use throughout NHS Scotland, particularly for conditions such as diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and epilepsy. These help people understand their symptoms, provide guidance on who to turn to for further support and information, and enable them to make health choices and be properly involved in decisions about care and treatments. People living with more than one long-term condition may be better served by a generic self-management plan, which, if appropriate, may also include a personalised healthcare and support plan.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the availability has been for awake neuro-oncological operations in eloquent brain areas in the last 10 years and whether such operations are being accessed by all suitable patients from all NHS board areas.

Nicola Sturgeon: Awake craniotomy has been available in Scotland since 1997. It is currently performed in the Edinburgh Centre for Neuro-oncology, in Ninewells Hospital in Dundee and in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

  Prior to 2010, specific data on awake craniotomy procedures were not collected and it was therefore not possible to analyse the geographical distribution of patients who have had this procedure. Through the work of the Neurosurgery Managed Service Network, however, it is now possible to gather data on awake craniotomy, and this will enable future analysis of NHS boards’ referral patterns.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which neurosurgical units have modern intraoperative assistance to achieve maximal safe resection of brain tumours.

Nicola Sturgeon: Of the four neurosurgical units in Scotland, those in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee, but not the unit in Aberdeen, provide fluorescence-guided surgery. All four centres have image-guided surgery. Neither intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging nor intraoperative ultrasound is currently available in Scotland.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) professors of and (b) senior lecturer posts in neurosurgery there were in 1999 and how many there are now.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally.

  The Scottish Government is aware, however, that at present there is one academic neurosurgery post in Scotland.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether academic track neurosurgeons in training in Scotland have adequate opportunities for advancement in Scotland.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Clinical Research Excellence Development Scheme (SCREDS) operates as a partnership between Scottish Universities and NHS Education for Scotland, and provides an integrated training and career development pathway enabling pre-Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) clinicians to pursue concurrently or sequentially academic and clinical training within the NHS. It facilitates both the attainment of a senior clinical academic appointment and the award of a CCT.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been undertaken by the Emergency Medicine Research Group in Edinburgh and the Scottish Ambulance Service on improving survival rates from cardiac arrest.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Emergency Medicine Research Group, Edinburgh (EMERGE), in partnership with the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS), has been undertaking research to improve the quality of pre-hospital resuscitation delivered by SAS personnel.

  I understand that the service is keen to work with the EMERGE group to consider how the learning points and training issues arising from this research can be taken forward across the country.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of cardiac arrest patients survives to hospital discharge.

Nicola Sturgeon: The following table shows the number of hospital stays where cardiac arrest is recorded as the main, or secondary diagnosis, in any episode within the hospital stay combined with the number of out-of-hospital registered deaths, where cardiac arrest is recorded as the underlying or a contributing cause of death, and the estimated number and percentage of patients discharged alive at the end of an acute continuous inpatient hospital stay. Data are shown for Scotland in the latest year ending 31 March 2010 P .

  

Scotland for Year Ending 31 March
Number of Cardiac Arrests

Number of Cardiac Arrest Patients Admitted to Hospital
Estimated Number of Cardiac Arrest Survivors Discharged Alive from Hospital
Estimated % of Cardiac Arrests Discharged Alive from Hospital


2010P
1,652
1,117
349
21.1%



  PProvisional.

  Source: ISD Scotland.

  Deaths occurring in the community, in the ambulance or on arrival in the emergency department and recorded as myocardial infarction may have been from a cardiac arrest. It is important to note that data on out-of-hospital deaths from cardiac arrest are probably underestimates and hence the survival rates are likely to be overestimates.

  Notes:

  1. The basic unit of analysis for these figures is the number of cardiac arrests recorded either in a continuous stay (CIS) in hospital or on a death registration. Probability matching methods have been used to link together death registrations from the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) and individual SMR01 hospital episodes for each patient, thereby creating "linked" patient histories. Within these patient histories, SMR01 episodes are grouped according to whether they form part of a continuous spell of treatment (whether or not this involves transfer between hospitals or even NHS boards).

  2. All discharges (hospital stays) with a main or secondary diagnosis of cardiac arrest in addition to all deaths where cardiac arrest is recorded as the underlying or one of 10 secondary causes of death are included in the analysis. Death registrations corresponding to linked hospital discharges are excluded. The discharge code from the last SMR01 episode within the CIS determines whether the patient was discharged from the continuous stay alive or dead.

  3. These statistics are based on the linked data set of SMR01 (Scottish Morbidity Record 01) and death records held by ISD Scotland. SMR01 collects information on inpatient and day case discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals in Scotland. The linkage and use of the death records is by permission of the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS).

  4. Up to six diagnoses (one main and five secondary) may be recorded on an SMR01 record. Up to 10 causes of death (underlying and secondary) may be recorded on the GROS death registration. All diagnoses position on any SMR01 record of a hospital stay and all causes of death have been used to identify cardiac arrest admissions or out of hospital deaths. Cardiac arrest has been defined using ICD10 code I46.

  5. There will be some cases of myocardial infarction (MI) where a cardiac arrest occurred during the hospital stay but was not mentioned on the discharge summary.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether survival rates from cardiac arrest have increased or declined and how they compare with rates in other European countries.

Nicola Sturgeon: The following table shows the number of hospital stays where cardiac arrest is recorded as the main, or secondary diagnosis, in any episode within the hospital stay, combined with the number of out-of-hospital registered deaths where cardiac arrest is recorded as the underlying or a contributing cause of death, and the estimated number and percentage of patients discharged alive at the end of an acute continuous inpatient hospital stay. Data are shown for Scotland over the past 10 years. No comparable data are available centrally for other European countries.

  

Year Ending 31 March
Number of Cardiac Arrests
Number of Cardiac Arrest Patients Admitted to Hospital
Estimated Number of Cardiac Arrest Survivors Discharged Alive from Hospital
Estimated % of Cardiac Arrests Discharged Alive from Hospital


2001
2,802
1,812
442
15.8%


2002
2,557
1,687
413
16.2%


2003
2,637
1,728
401
15.2%


2004
2,353
1,532
362
15.4%


2005
2,328
1,556
360
15.5%


2006
2,128
1,394
356
16.7%


2007
2,004
1,232
331
16.5%


2008
1,974
1,307
361
18.3%


2009
1,744
1,151
335
19.2%


2010P
1,652
1,117
349
21.1%



  PProvisional

  Source: ISD Scotland.

  Deaths occurring in the community, in the ambulance or on arrival in the accident and emergency department and recorded as myocardial infarction may have been from a cardiac arrest. It is important to note that data on out-of-hospital deaths from cardiac arrest are probably under estimates and hence the survival rates are likely to be overestimates.

  Notes:

  1. The basic unit of analysis for these figures is the number of cardiac arrests recorded either in a continuous stay (CIS) in hospital or on a death registration. Probability matching methods have been used to link together death registrations from the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) and individual SMR01 hospital episodes for each patient, thereby creating "linked" patient histories. Within these patient histories, SMR01 episodes are grouped according to whether they form part of a continuous spell of treatment (whether or not this involves transfer between hospitals or even NHS Boards).

  2. All discharges (hospital stays) with a main or secondary diagnosis of cardiac arrest in addition to all deaths where cardiac arrest is recorded as the underlying or one of 10 secondary causes of death are included in the analysis. Death registrations corresponding to linked hospital discharges are excluded. The discharge code from the last SMR01 episode within the CIS determines whether the patient was discharged from the continuous stay alive or dead.

  3. These statistics are based on the linked data set of SMR01 (Scottish Morbidity Record 01) and death records held by ISD Scotland. SMR01 collects information on inpatient and day case discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals in Scotland. The linkage and use of the death records is by permission of the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS).

  4. Up to six diagnoses (one main and five secondary) may be recorded on an SMR01 record. Up to 10 causes of death (underlying and secondary) may be recorded on the GROS death registration. All diagnoses position on any SMR01 record of a hospital stay and all causes of death have been used to identify cardiac arrest admissions or out of hospital deaths. Cardiac arrest has been defined using ICD10 code I46.

  5. There will be some cases of myocardial infarction (MI) where a cardiac arrest occurred during the hospital stay but was not mentioned on the discharge summary.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve survival rates from cardiac arrest.

Nicola Sturgeon: Heart disease, and the treatment of heart attack, remains a clinical priority for NHS Scotland and we want people to have access to the best possible treatment at the earliest possible opportunity, including potentially life-saving defibrillators.

  Making further reductions in the number of deaths from heart attack is an important theme of the Scottish Government’s Better Heart Disease and Stroke Care Action plan, published in June 2009. The action plan includes an action which places responsibility on NHS boards to look at introducing defibrillators in public places and our National Advisory Committee on heart disease will monitor the progress that is being made.

  We also want to ensure that the best equipment is in place for patients and we are providing £7.5 million of funding to provide cutting-edge defibrillators in Scotland’s ambulance fleet. We believe this investment in the most up-to-date technology will improve heart attack survival rates and save lives.

  The Scottish Ambulance Service recognises the importance of reaching people who have had a cardiac arrest quickly and treating them effectively. It therefore has two local delivery plan (LDP) targets related to cardiac arrest:

  Between 12-20% of eligible cardiac arrest patients with Return of Spontaneous Circulation on arrival at hospital, and

  Reach 80% of cardiac arrest patients within eight minutes (mainland Scotland).

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to increase the availability of defibrillators in local communities.

Nicola Sturgeon: The cardiac Managed Clinical Networks, working with their NHS boards are conducting an assessment of Public Access Defibrillator provision in their area, drawing on information from a mapping exercise conducted by the British Heart Foundation. Their progress will be monitored by the National Advisory Group for Heart Disease.

  In June, the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) announced that it would install defibrillators on all of its ambulances this year. This state-of-the-art technology will replace existing defibrillators in a £7.5 million initiative funded by the Scottish Government.

Health

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what will be the responsibilities of the rehabilitation co-ordinators that are to be appointed to each NHS board, as reported by John Connaghan to the Public Audit Committee on 8 September 2010 ( Official Report c. 1858), and what the total cost of these appointments will be.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government is committed to enhancing rehabilitation and re-ablement services for older adults, those with long-term conditions and those requiring assistance to return to work. The framework can be found at:  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/NHS-Scotland/adultrehabilitation

  As part of the implementation of the Delivery Framework for Adult Rehabilitation, Rehabilitation Co-ordinators have been appointed in each NHS board with a clear remit to identify gaps in service delivery, redesign services and work across agencies including social work, to ensure these gaps are addressed.

  The specific purpose of these posts are to:

  map existing rehabilitation services in health and social care;

  re-design services with the support of the National Implementation Group ;

  integrate health and social care rehabilitation services, and

  promote case/ care management approaches in rehabilitation/enablement teams.

  Rehabilitation Co-ordinators have an agenda for change pay banding of 8A (£36, 851 - £46,621).

Health

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what are the roles of (a) NHS Education for Scotland, (b) NHSScotland, (c) NHS National Services Scotland and (d) NHS Quality Improvement Scotland and whether it considers that the work of these bodies could be undertaken by the Scottish Executive Health Directorate or directly by NHS boards, and if not, for what reason

Nicola Sturgeon: The eight Special NHS Boards support the Territorial NHS Boards. The role and rationale for their existence is outlined in the report of the Collective Assessment of NHSScotland Special Health Boards published by the Scottish Government in August 2010. Copies of the report have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 51703).

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many whole-time equivalent nurse specialists are working specifically in neurology, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Workforce data is published by National Services Scotland, Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland annually, as at 30 September. Information showing clinical nurse specialists by specialty, including neuroscience/neurology, and NHS board at 30 September 2009 is available at: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=Clinical%20Nurse%20Specialists%202009a.xls&pContentDispositionType=attachment .

Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the £1.6 million of government funding for the Family Nurse Partnership pilot in Lothian covers the whole cost of the pilot or whether funding is also being provided by NHS Lothian or other partners.

Shona Robison: Yes. The £1.6 million of government funding for the Family Nurse Partnership pilot in Lothian covers the whole cost of the pilot.

Mental Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the longest recorded waiting time is for a call to be answered by Breathing Space since January 2010.

Shona Robison: The longest recorded time to answer a call by Breathing Space was 1 hour 13 seconds at 14:00 hrs on 31 July 2010.

  This delay was exceptional and due to the combination of increased call demand, and reduced staff availability because of staff turnover.

  All reasonable steps are taken to answer calls, including supervisors answering the calls, to try to avoid callers waiting longer than necessary.

  The average time for a call to be answered since January 2010 is 21 seconds.

Mental Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether an hour is a typical waiting time for a call to be answered by Breathing Space.

Shona Robison: No. Waiting an hour for a call to be answered by Breathing Space is exceptional. For example, the average time for a call to be answered since January 2010 is 21 seconds.

Ministerial Cars

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-35909 by John Swinney on 15 September 2010, whether it will make a significant reduction in the ministerial car pool and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

John Swinney: Our priority is to ensure that the Government Car Service is delivered in the most efficient and cost effective manner, offering the best deal to the taxpayer. The number of vehicles in the fleet, currently 24, is kept under review to ensure that it reflects the demands on the service. The typical vehicle now used has CO2 emissions that are 31% lower than the vehicles used by ministers under the previous administration. The vehicles combine low carbon emissions with the need to meet business requirements. Wherever possible public transport is utilised as an alternative to GCS.

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many posts in the NHS are currently advertised on the national website as being available for redeployment.

Nicola Sturgeon: Advertising and filling vacancies through redeployment is a matter for NHSScotland NHS boards as employers. The data requested is not held centrally.

NHS Staff

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many are employed by NHS Education for Scotland and what the annual cost was for 2009-10.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS workforce data is published by National Services Scotland, Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland annually, as at 30 September. The number of staff in post for NHS Education for Scotland at 30 September 2009 was 547 head count (476.4 whole-time equivalent). Further information is available at:  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=Overall%20staff%202009_vt.xls&pContentDispositionType=attachment .

  The annual staffing costs for NHS Education for Scotland taken from the annual accounts for the period ending 31 March 2010 was £32.847million.

NHS Staff

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many are employed by NHS National Services Scotland and what the annual cost was for 2009-10.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS workforce data is published by National Services Scotland, Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland annually, as at 30 September. The number of staff in post for NHS National Services Scotland at 30 September 2009 was 3,596 head count (3,256.7 whole-time equivalent). Further information is available at:  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=Overall%20staff%202009_vt.xls&pContentDispositionType=attachment .

  The staffing costs for NHS National Services Scotland taken from the annual accounts for the period ending 31 March 2010 was £129.453 million.

NHS Staff

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many are employed by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland and what the annual cost was for 2009-10.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS workforce data is published by National Services Scotland, Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland annually, as at 30 September. The number of staff in post for NHS Quality Improvement Scotland at 30 September 2009 was 275 head count (260.1 whole-time equivalent). Further information is available at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=Overall%20staff%202009_vt.xls&pContentDispositionType=attachment.

  The annual staffing costs for NHS Quality Improvement Scotland taken from the annual accounts for the period ending 31 March 2010 was £11.164 million.

NHS Staff

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many are employed by National Waiting Times Centre Board and what the annual cost was for 2009-10.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS workforce data is published by National Services Scotland, Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland annually, as at 30 September. The number of staff in post for NHS National Waiting Times Centre at 30 September 2009 was 1,393 head count (1,273.5 whole-time equivalent). Further information is available at:  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=Overall%20staff%202009_vt.xls&pContentDispositionType=attachment .

  The annual staffing costs for NHS National Waiting Times Centre taken from the annual accounts for the period ending 31 March 2010 was £60.578 million.

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many newly diagnosed patients each nurse specialist in epilepsy has responsibility for annually.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally. However, it is for NHS boards to determine their workforce requirements, including specialist nurses, based on the clinical needs of the population and service developments in their area.

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many whole-time equivalent nurse specialists are working specifically in epilepsy, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Workforce data is published by National Services Scotland, Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland annually, as at 30 September. Information showing clinical nurse specialists by specialty, including epilepsy, and NHS board at 30 September 2009 is available at: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=Clinical%20Nurse%20Specialists%202009a.xls&pContentDispositionType=attachment .

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many newly diagnosed patients each nurse specialist in neurology has responsibility for annually.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally. However, it is for NHS boards to determine their workforce requirements, including specialist nurses, based on the clinical needs of the population and service developments in their area.

Rail Services

Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dedicated cycle spaces there are on trains (a) operating on the Edinburgh to North Berwick line, (b) due to enter service on the Edinburgh to North Berwick line in March 2011 and (c) whether it considers that this change in provision will promote sustainable and integrated transport.

Stewart Stevenson: (a) Edinburgh to North Berwick services are currently operated by four car electric class 322 trains which have eight dedicated cycle spaces available for passenger usage.

  (b) From March 2011 new four car electric class 380 trains (inter-working with the larger fleet of class 380 trains operating in Ayrshire and Inverclyde) will replace class 322 trains offering more seating and two dedicated cycle storage spaces with the ability to carry at least eight more cycles in the vestibules.

  (c) Along with this major investment in high quality rolling stock, additional measures such as new and enhanced, secure storage facilities will be installed at some stations on the North Berwick line to enable passengers more choice to leave cycles at stations. This will continue to encourage sustainable and integrated transport whilst acknowledging a fair balance between the needs of all passengers who travel on train.

Road Safety

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in meeting its road casualty reduction targets of (a) 40% in fatalities and (b) 55% in serious injuries over the 2010 to 2020 period and what additional progress it expects to achieve in 2011.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government is committed to GB targets for casualty reduction in the period 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2010. The targets, compared with the average for 1994-98 are:

  40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured;

  50% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured, and

  10% reduction in the slight casualty rate.

  By 2009, all deaths and serious injuries in Scotland were 49% below the baseline, while child deaths and serious injuries were 69% and slight injuries 38% below their base lines.

  On 15 June 2009 the Scottish Government launched a Road Safety Framework for Scotland for the period to 2020. The Framework set challenging targets for casualty reduction in Scotland to commence from 1 January 2011 after the GB targets period ends. The new targets compared to the average for 2004-08 are:

  40% reduction in the number of people killed, with a milestone of 30% by 2015;

  55% reduction in the number of people seriously injured, with a milestone of 43% by 2015;

  50% reduction in the number of children killed, with a milestone of 35% by 2015, and

  65% reduction in the number of children seriously injured, with a milestone of 50% by 2015.

  Progress against the targets will be given in Reported Road Casualties Scotland published annually by the Scottish Government.

Roads

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the (a) M74/A725 North Junction, (b) M8 associated network improvements and (c) M8 Baillieston to Newhouse non-profit distributing model did not meet the financial close date of February 2010 currently posted on its website.

Stewart Stevenson: For the latest position on these three road schemes, I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-35712 on 6 September 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Roads

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the A9 Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route non-profit distributing model has no estimated financial close date on its website.

Stewart Stevenson: The A90 Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route is currently the subject of legal challenges. These challenges will delay the construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route until they are heard in the Court of Session and resolved. It is therefore not possible to provide an estimated date for financial close.

Roads

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the target period for completion of the A82 works at Pulpit Rock and Crianlarich remains 2012-13 and what the timetable is for the design work for the upgrade and realignment of the A82 from Tarbet to Inverarnan.

Stewart Stevenson: The A82 Crianlarich Bypass and the A82 Pulpit Rock Improvement are scheduled to complete in 2012-13 subject to satisfactory completion of statutory process.

  A timetable for the design work for the upgrade and realignment of the A82 between Tarbet and Inverarnan as part of Intervention 3 of the Strategic Transport Project Review (STPR) will be set in the context of overall affordability and our commitments to other STPR proposals.

Schools

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive Executive whether it will list the schools for which closure was called in by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning since May 2007, broken down by local authority area.

Keith Brown: The legislative power for Scottish Ministers to call in school closure decisions has existed since 5 April 2010, with the enactment of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

  Since enactment, Scottish ministers have called in three local authority school closure decisions, as follows:

  

Local Authority
School


Glasgow City Council
St Aidan’s School


Glasgow City Council
St Joan of Arc School


Glasgow City Council
Stonedyke Primary School

Smoking

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funding was allocated to trading standards departments for (a) test purchasing and (b) advice and support services as part of the Enhanced Tobacco Sales Enforcement Programme in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11, broken down by local authority.

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated to each local authority under the Enhanced Tobacco Sales Enforcement Programme.

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £4.5 million awarded under the Enhanced Tobacco Sales Enforcement Programme was or has been allocated to each local authority in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has made new funding of £4.5 million over three years (2008-09 to 2010-11) available to Scottish local authorities for the Enhanced Tobacco Sales Enforcement Programme. The allocation made to each local authority is intended broadly to support achievement of the range of agreed outcomes and therefore it is not possible to provide a breakdown for funding devoted to individual activities, such as test purchasing or business advice and support. Moreover, while it was envisaged that the new funding would be allocated to trading standards departments, it was made available through the mechanisms provided by the new national performance framework for local authorities enshrined in the Scottish Government and local authority concordat. Under the concordat it is for local authorities to determine how best to utilise the resources in support of the agreed outcomes.

  The funding allocated to individual local authorities remained the same for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 and is shown in the following table.

  

Local Authority
Funding (£)


Aberdeen City
51,232


Aberdeenshire
59,008


Angus
35,371


Argyll & Bute
47,034


Clackmannanshire
20,546


Dumfries and Galloway
45,220


Dundee City
56,882


East Ayrshire
34,386


East Dunbartonshire 
30,550


East Lothian 
25,782


East Renfrewshire 
25,522


Edinburgh, City of
158,011


Eilean Siar
24,278


Falkirk 
37,289


Fife 
81,556


Glasgow City
137,330


Highland 
95,914


Inverclyde
26,196


Midlothian 
24,641


Moray
29,358


North Ayrshire
37,237


North Lanarkshire 
77,357


Orkney Islands
20,339


Perth and Kinross
45,012


Renfrewshire
40,088


Scottish Borders
38,066


Shetland Islands
19,872


South Ayrshire
36,978


South Lanarkshire 
56,623


Stirling 
26,922


West Dunbartonshire 
24,745


West Lothian 
30,654


Total
1,500,000

Smoking

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many and (b) which local authorities met their targets for (i) test purchasing and (ii) advice and support services under the Enhanced Tobacco Sales Enforcement Programme in (A) 2008-09, (B) 2009-10 and are meeting their targets for 2010-11.

Shona Robison: The information requested is as follows:-

  A. 2008-09

  i. Test Purchasing

  (a) 12 local authorities met their targets.

  (b) The authorities were:

  Aberdeen City, Angus, Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Shetland, South Ayrshire and West Lothian.

  ii. Business Advice and Assistance

  (a) 16 local authorities met their targets.

  (b) The authorities were:

  Angus, Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Midlothian, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney, Renfrewshire, Shetland, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian.

  B. 2009-10

  i. Test Purchasing

  (a) 20 local authorities met their targets.

  (b) The authorities were:

  Aberdeen City, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Edinburgh, Fife, Glasgow, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Shetland, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian.

  ii. Business Advice and Assistance

  (a) 19 local authorities met their targets.

  (b) The authorities were:

  Aberdeenshire, Angus, Scottish Borders, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, Fife, Midlothian, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney, Renfrewshire, Shetland, South Ayrshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire, Western Isles and West Lothian.

  C. Information is collated annually and therefore 2010-11 data will not be available until later next year.

Smoking

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the target is for joint operations between local authorities and HM Revenue and Customs under the Enhanced Tobacco Sales Enforcement Programme.

Shona Robison: The national targets for joint operations between local authorities and HM Revenue and Customs are five operations in 2008-09, six operations in 2009-10 and seven operations in 2010-11.

Smoking

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities met the target for joint operations with HM Revenue and Customs under the Enhanced Tobacco Sales Enforcement Programme.

Shona Robison: National targets were set under the programme rather than individual local authority targets. For 2009-10 a target of six joint operations was set and I am pleased to report that the target was exceeded, with 16 operations reported to have taken place over that period. For 2008-09 a target of five joint operations was set and six operations were reported to have taken place.

Smoking

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many joint operations were carried out between local authorities and HM Revenue and Customs under the Enhanced Tobacco Sales Enforcement Programme.

Shona Robison: There were 16 joint operations reported to have taken place between local authorities and HM Revenue and Customs during 2009-10 and six joint operations during 2008-09.

Smoking

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the results of joint operations carried out between local authorities and HM Revenue and Customs to address the sale of illicit tobacco in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11, broken down by local authority area.

Shona Robison: The Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTTS) is expected to publish a report on the progress made under the Enhanced Tobacco Sales Enforcement Programme within the next couple of months. We will inform you when the report is available.

Smoking

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions there have been as a result of the Enhanced Tobacco Sales Enforcement Programme.

Shona Robison: In the five years 2003-04 to 2008-09 there were three, two, five, nine and 12 convictions respectively for selling cigarettes to persons under the legal age of purchase in Scottish courts. It is not possible to say from the information held centrally if any of these convictions were as a result of the Enhanced Tobacco Sales Enforcement Programme.

  There have been no convictions in the last five years under sections 8G(4)(a) or 8G(4)(b) of the Tobacco Products Duty Act 1979.

Sport

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many football coaches are involved in football training in each local authority area.

Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-36238 on 24 September 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Sport

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Midlothian Council concerning the future of the Midlothian Snowsports Centre.

Shona Robison: Although there have been no direct discussions between the Scottish Government and Midlothian Council, the chief executive and his staff within sportscotland have been working closely with the council to identify ways of strengthening the management and operation of the centre. This has enabled sportscotland to play a crucial role in the council being able to take the decision to continue to operate the Midlothian Snowsports Centre. I have been kept closely informed of the progress of these discussions.